The Future of Social Value: Funding the Strategy, Not Just the Delivery
For all the talk about social value, almost no one funds the thinking behind it. Money is poured into projects, volunteering hours, and evidence reports, but not into the planning, mapping, and strategy that make social value actually work. It’s like paying to build the house but refusing to pay for the architect. As I […]
Beyond the Helicopter: Building Real Social Value Partnerships
Ask most charities what “bad social value” looks like, and you’ll get the same answer: the helicopter company. That’s the company that drops in for a day, paints a fence, takes a photo, uploads it to the portal, and flies off again. Everyone gets their evidence. No one gets any lasting benefit. As one charity […]
The Social Value Trap: How Portals and Calculators Miss the Point
The Social Value Trap: How Portals and Calculators Miss the Point Social value is meant to make public spending meaningful. The idea is simple; if you’re working with public money, you should improve the community while you’re at it. But the way we measure that improvement has started to distort what it means. The rise […]
Small Business, Big Value: How SMEs Can Lead the Social Value Revolution
For a lot of small businesses, social value feels like another bureaucratic headache. It’s something you have to promise to win a tender, then scramble to deliver once the contract’s signed. But the truth is, social value isn’t a burden. It’s an opportunity hiding in plain sight. When smaller firms understand it properly, they can […]
The Missing Link: Why Social Value Isn’t Broken, Just Disconnected
Social value isn’t broken. It’s just waiting to be connected. That’s the simplest way to describe where we are right now. The policy is good. The intent is clear. The Procurement Act 2023 puts social value at the heart of every major public contract. But when that policy hits the reality of councils, contractors, and […]